Light Stars of Time
by Sugary-B
Summary: The first day of every month is when the tradition revisits. Since a year ago, the five of them have always put aside a single day to reunite after time spent apart. During the summer they were separated but now it's September 1st and Aoba has big news, Koujaku is still missed, Mizuki and Noiz have their eyes on someone and Clear has to adapt to a facial accessory [school-ish!au]


_**AN **I changed the summary at the last minute so forgive me if it's over hyped or cliche. And I've also had to split this very long oneshot so the second part will be up after this soon. I really didn't want to split it in case the feel of the story breaks or something but I don't want to ram too much in to you guys._

_The title is a play on the word 'like' which sounds like 'light' because basically the stars everyone gazes at on tradition days are really bright, haha of course. Hm, I'm not sure if I originally planned for Koujaku to have a main role in this but I guess how it's turned out for him is a reflection of my unresolved feelings for him, so that's why he's distant in this. __Sorry Koujaku fans, but still, I hope you can all enjoy~_

* * *

The idea of instating a tradition within the tight-knit group goes back to a year ago, near the end of a very long night.

It began with the five of them enjoying a meal at their usual hangout area, at a large rounded table in the top corner of a restaurant that wouldn't pass any inspections but made up for that by serving the yummiest milkshakes and catering to different tastes, from junk food to western and oriental. And they were planning on splitting the bill fair and square like they always did unless it was a special occasion and one of them wanted to treat everyone else. Last time, it had been Mizuki's birthday and all of the money he had received had left him in a flash to compensate for the greediness and empty stomachs along with the drooling mouths of his friends/ guests.

What ruined this evening in particular and made it go awry but eventually made it memorable enough to have a tradition built from it was Noiz and his big mouth, deciding he would shoot an oh so '_delightful_' comment at the topic of the baby of the group glued to wearing a ridiculous mask, which everyone at the table-himself included-knew was basically taboo. Ever since they had met Clear and for as long as they'd known him he was always self-conscious about his facial appearance. Naturally it didn't end well with him being on the other end of an insensitive and close-to-home comment like that and he took off in whimpering and stumbling out of the restaurant to flee across the street with the rest of the group watching until he turned a corner, going to wherever his white laced boots would take him with their stubby, thick heels.

The table was silent until Mizuki released a sigh that was heavy on his heart. "Why do you have to be like that? Man, you're such an brat!"

"It was my opinion, _baka_zuki." Noiz retaliated as he turned away from the petty scolding.

"A _bad_ one." Koujaku was strongly sure about that, if what had just happened and the empty seat across from him were anything to go by. "Next time, unless you're going to say something nice then just keep that mouth of yours shut!"

"Don't you have someplace else to be? Hurry up and go already, Kou_jakass_."

"H-Hey, you guys!..." Aoba hoped they wouldn't get in to another fight because chances were his pleas for them to stop would just fall on deaf ears. He scolded Noiz silently with a stern gaze, disappointed that he broke the group's promise to not speak about the fact that tonight would be their last night as a five. Tomorrow morning Koujaku and his family would be on a plane going out of the country to permanently live in another. If Aoba could help it then this limited time spent with him was not going to end terribly. "Stop it, fighting each other is not going to help! We need to go after Clear, that's the most important thing right now!"

"Ahuh." Mizuki nodded along and so did Koujaku. Noiz didn't react but told himself that if he didn't go along with the others then there would only be more scoldings. That and he also knew that it was very dark and late, an unfriendly mix for Clear whose innocence and chances of being in trouble obligated the opinionated brat to assist in looking out for him more.

It took a little under forty-minutes to find Clear sitting in the middle of a large vacant field with his knees hauled to his chest and his head tilted upwards in the direction of the soft moon and it's chalk-like aura radiating among the stars. The magnificent sight played a key role in making that night, that particular moment, as their hearts went back in their mouths and in its place and their worries and fears calmed, a most memorable night for them to keep for the oncoming years they would spend together, minus Koujaku unfortunately but they would definitely keep in touch.

Noiz went through the small words he could to string together to form a decent apology and Clear told him that it was fine. His mood had changed so quickly because of the night sky. He said that he agreed he was weird for hiding behind a mask all the time and eventually he would want to overcome his issues and literally face the world. In fact, that day came the following morning while Aoba was on his way to his first class, head and heart low after sending Koujaku and his family off at the airport with tight hugs, back pats and tears-mostly coming from Clear's Sherbet pink eyes.

Aoba looked on at the gang of delinquents hassling Clear, who was without a mask for the first time in a long time which must have been why he was being made to back up in to the corner of the lockers so much that it was like he was trying to fuse with the wall itself, desperate to get away from them. "You bastards, leave him alo-" Aoba had started to call out to them with the plan to intervene with a simple warning, and if that didn't work then a roundhouse kick.

Until Noiz came in, appearing like a destined knight. And instead of brawling with the delinquents like most people would've expected of him, he simply stuck his hand in-between their circle to grab hold of Clear and yank him out of their grouping, freeing him.

"Ah!...N-Noiz-kun-san?!" Clear exclaimed with his set nickname for the person he wasn't unacquainted with yet still not close enough to, staring down at the hand protectively clasped around his own as if it was going to explode. He had every right to believe he was being transferred to a more secluded area to get a few beatings but that was not the case. Then why was Noiz doing something so unlike him?

Noiz didn't know why either so he couldn't tell him anything. "It's either kun or san, drop the other." Is all he said as he continued to pull the surprised boy through the split crowd of onlookers. "_Tch_, you're unbelievable."

Whatever _that_ was didn't make a lot of sense. Yet Aoba took the uncharacteristic good deed as a sign to say that the promise the five of them made under the moon last night, to put aside any and every responsibility they had to reunite on that large open field again on the first day of every month, was definitely going to happen no matter what. Already, it was bringing the unlikely pair a bit closer. So now who's to say that another amazing sight won't be seen in the future?

Those were Aoba's thoughts a year ago.

It's now September 1st of the year 2014, a Monday.

The first day of school after a lonely summer and also the first day of the month.

Aoba's buzzing and it shows in the way he kind of skips along down the hallway in the early afternoon, arms clasped together behind like a man happy to be in action. He's been waiting for this day, same as every month. He's been looking forward to meeting up with everyone again after being apart during the summer. Sure, they called each other but it wasn't often and their talks didn't last long. There was that one four-way call that didn't go to plan; Aoba with his hands full babysitting three terror-way triplets, Clear trying to keep possession of his laptop which his younger bully-brothers were trying to steal, and when Mizuki brought up how much he was missing Koujaku Noiz went off on one again and brewed another argument from his thoughtless comment about preferring the decrease in number of their group. Honestly, he never did get along well with Koujaku but the reason behind it wasn't apparent to any of them.

These days the four of them couldn't hang out like before; what with other life responsibilities getting in the way and all. And now that they're starting their second last year of high school it's only going to become more difficult to even drop a text, let alone a meet up! But Aoba has a few ways in mind of getting around that kind of nonsense. Approaching his first target, he stands beside him patiently with a giddy smile. He's surely not the only one who remembers the significance of today but if he is then it'll be his pleasure to refresh everyone's memory.

"Ah, gee. I don't know, Aoba." Clear's in the middle of putting books away in his locker when he looks at Aoba, sparing his hopeful smile with an apologetic one in return. "I'm kind of busy after school today."

"No way!" Aoba's smile falls in to a lopsided frown. "With what!? And what happened to Aoba-_san_?"

"Then, Aoba-_san_, sorry but may I please be excused from today? I'm afraid I can't be present this time."

"Why not? What's going on today?"

"...I just, um..." Clear shuts his locker and mumbles. He can't look at Aoba directly so he chooses to focus on everything else nearby, the water fountain, a student's bag, the ceiling with a flickering light. Knowing Aoba though, he'll stand there for as long as he needs to to get an answer, a good one. "I have an appointment at the opticians and there's a chance I'll have to start wearing glasses from now on."

Oh, so that's why. Aoba was worried it was something serious.

"So Aoba-san, may I please-"

"No."

"Eh?...But I haven't said anythi-"

"Absolutely not."

"Hey, AOBA-SAN!" Clear stomps the heel of his boot in to the tiled floor like a child having a tantrum.

Aoba grins, unable to help teasing him because he reacts cutely. "What? Afraid the guys will hound you about being a _megane_ now?"

"N-NO!" But the way Clear is quick to turn away and start twiddling his thumb says otherwise. Sighing, he confesses. "...I'm gonna look silly."

"You're _being_ silly. Clear, you'll look fine. Hey, if the guys say anything about it then _I'll_ hound _them_."

"...Okay then, Aoba." The honorific is left out again because Clear feels that this is one of those nice times when he's closer to Aoba who's always looking out for him like an older brother, and that's something he'll always be thankful for. If it wasn't even for Aoba then he probably never would've started leaving his gas mask at home since a year ago.

Aoba pats his shoulder encouragingly, thankful that he's trusting him for now. "Good. Now you won't believe the big news I've got."

"What?! Oh, you have to tell me!" Clear begs as he clings to Aoba and jumps around excitedly, tugging and pulling at him desperately. "Please tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me now, pleeeaaase!"

Aoba laughs and shakes his head. "Nope, not yet."

"Waaah, you're so cold to me!"

"If you really want to find out then you _really_ have to go with us tonight, okay?"

Clear makes the noise of a restrained strangled groan, sighing in defeat afterwards as his shoulders deflate along with his excitement. He can't help but feel like a child being told to eat his vegetables or there'll be no dessert. "Fine, I'll think about it."

"No, _you're coming_."

"AOBA!"

"San. _Saaan_." Aoba drags out the correction and ruffles the head of fluffy white hair. "And don't forget to bring your old self, our tradition was made from it."

Clear's lips press in to a worried pout. "Then will Noiz-kun have to make fun of me so I'll run away and you guys will chase after me again? I hope that's not the case. It's not very convenient to run in heels all the time you know."

_'I can imagine.'_ Aoba chuckles, and ruffles Clear's hair more to soothe his worried assumption. "There's no need to go that far. Just bring yourself." Then he smiles wickedly and the body underneath his touch tenses. "And your_ new specs_."

"Um,...I-I woud actually prefer not to if possible, Aoba-san."

"I _said_ to bring them."

"But I may not even need glasses, I'm only assuming that due to how my right eye is blurry sometimes! It might even be because my brothers smacked me in the face over the summer."

"Wha-?! They're still messing with you!? Agh, damn alphas!"

"O-Oi, Aoba!...It's not like I'm defending them or anything but they're still my brothers. My _baby_ brothers!" Trust Clear to soak up what he can of being the oldest brother. He thinks it entitles him to give advice and share wisdom to his troublesome brothers even though he doesn't act or think much different to a young child, like in kindergarten. It's why the rest of the group treat him and his innocence with a lot of care.

"I know, you're right. My bad." Aoba decides to be cool about it and leave things-_For now_, at least. He's been plotting with Mizuki for some time now to put the bully-brothers in their place and that's still a go once the time's right. Well I hope everything goes well and I'll see you later tonight."

"Eh? Are we not eating lunch together?"

"Can't." Aoba says over his shoulder when he starts to walk away. "Gotta round up the other two. Just don't forget about my _big news_."

"Please tell me your big news now, Aoba! Pretty please with a jelly fish on top!"

"Just be there! It'll be fun, like always." Aoba will take his news to his grave before he reveals anything because it's all he's got to bait Clear with. And besides, their tradition is only a few hours away from being revisited.

* * *

_**[3 Years, 9 Weeks ago - Outside the School Building...]**_

"aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!~"

It's like an angel skipped a step and clumsily fell from the sunny heavens, Aoba spared a second to think in-between walking around the school building and unwillingly being a stunt man's safe landing. Groaning underneath the unwanted weight of the stranger, he did his best to squirm and claw or slide his way out and fill air in his lungs again but it was hard, the man above him heavier than he looked.

"Hah...Ah, that was quiet unexpected. But luckily I caught it!" The stranger on top said to himself presumably. In his hands was a crumpled up paper airplane and Aoba could make out a few questions along with circled or crossed out markings and a red circle around a number written in a bigger font at the top. A test paper? But where did the person even come from?

Aoba looked up and white curtains whipped about in the gentle breeze against the open window of a classroom four floors up. _'NO WAY, HE JUMPED AND FELL FROM THE FOURTH FLOOR?! SERIOUSLY?!' _he realised to his horror, because it couldn't be possible when it's against human capabilities. Still in a bit of a daze, he turned to stare at the stranger on top.

An arguable sixth sense kicked in and the guy looked down at him, his expression unknown, face hidden behind a gas mask. He seemed to finally take notice of what he landed on. Scrambling to get up off him, he bowed repeatedly. "O-Oh! Pardon me! I am very sorry!"

Aoba stood up then, wincing at the pain aching from his left side, like a rib has been cracked. It was nothing the exaggeration couldn't be shaken off with though. He faced the guy, an important matter on mind. "Hey, you fell pretty hard and far! We should get you to the school infirmary as soon as!"

"Eh? Nonono, that won't be necessary!" The guy frantically shook his head left to right along with his gloved hands.

"Don't be silly. Come on, I'll take you there." Aoba grabbed the stranger by the hand and lead the way, ignoring all protests and unconvincing assurances of his condition. He looked fine from what Aoba could see-which wasn't a lot. But for anyone to survive or be completely alright after falling from such a height was nothing short of a remnant from a fairytale or depth imagination.

The infirmary was cosy with enough space for four examination beds, with a window at the end of all of them and a desk with a computer and first aid supplies on top just across near the door. They were the only ones in the room and they couldn't guess when or if the school nurse would return. The condition of the guy might have been too severe to leave alone so after instructing him to sit on the edge of one of the beds, Aoba brought over a first aid kit full of band-aids and bandages and placed it on the bed beside him.

Then his hands reached out toward the man and attempted to remove the gas mask.

"NO, D-DON'T!"

Aoba froze in place, startled by the abrupt cry. "...Hey, there's no need to panic. I'm just taking this off so I can-"

"Please, you mustn't!" The guy shook his head fast with much desperation. "I-I...I can't allow you to see what I look like!"

"I need to take a look and see if you need a band-aid."

"That won't be necessary!"

"But you could be bleeding or-"

"Once you see my face you'll hate me..." The guy admitted, so sure. That was odd, a person's appearance resulting in them being the target of a person's intolerance towards them. It wasn't unheard of but it was definitely something Aoba would never think to do.

"I promise I won't hate you." Aoba said in a light tone, to assure him as best as he could while their relationship was still nothing beyond strangers. No matter who it was, he couldn't ignore his kind nature that wanted to help people. "Can you trust me enough to let me treat any injuries you could have?"

The guy wanted to speak but his words faltered as he contemplated the awe he was in over the gentle words that had swayed him right. He could generally tell that Aoba was a nice person from the vibe he could feel orbiting around him. It hadn't been that long since their crash land meeting yet Clear felt alright gauging the amount of trust he had in Aoba from just the little information he knew about him that were mostly handpicked opinions. He wasn't undoing the buckle clasps going around his head to remove the gas mask because he was no longer insecure or paranoid, but because Aoba had asked him so nicely with genuine care.

Pearlescent pink eyes squinted, blinked and fluttered under the white walls of the room and brightness of outside that they weren't yet accustomed to and two adjacent moles bunched as the bottom lip rolled inwards consciously, meanwhile Aoba caught a gasp that nearly jumped out. An innocent yet worried expression stared back at Aoba's flabbergasted mix, mouth gaped and eyes unblinking as they took everything in, noting that whatever kind of face he could've imagined would be behind the gas mask wouldn't have been remotely close to the handsome features of the mature and slim shaped face that had a childlike coating over it.

"I'm hideous, right?" The guy asked after a while of either of them not saying anything, nervously reaching up, tempted to cover his face with his hands. "I have another mask with me so if-"

"Sheesh!" Aoba groaned loudly, exaggerating his irritation. "You make a fuss about me seeing your face and now that I have I can say that you were being selfish, hogging it to yourself like that! I mean, you're so..."

Clear shut his eyes tight, scared to hear it. "..I-I know!"

"Beautiful."

Clear's head shot up and he stared while in a confused daze. Had he injured his hearing in the fall? "...S-Say that again?"

Aoba glared for a second at the ignorance and embarrassingly mumbled out a strict "No", rejecting him completely. A flush still accompanied the tops of his cheeks as he pressed a band-aid over a faint bruise on Clear's forehead, the closeness of such an attractive face almost dizzily unbearable. "Okay, there! That should do it."

The guy reached up, fingers traced the medical material. "Thank you very much."

"Pleasure's mine." Aoba said, smiling. "What's your name?"

"It's Clear."

"Nice to meet you Clear. I'm Aoba. Can I ask why you jumped out the window from the fourth floor? That was pretty reckless of you, don't you think? And dangerous. You could've, like, broken an arm or something!"

"Ah, I didn't mean to!" Clear ducked his head a little under the impression he was being treated like a clueless kid. "I tried to catch my test paper before it could fly out the window because I didn't want people to see my low score. It's really bad, Aoba-san."

"How bad can it be?"

"I got fourteen marks...out of a hundred."

_'Didn't think that was possible, not even on purpose..'_. "A-Ah, I see. Well I-I'm sure you'll do better next time." Aoba left an encouraging ruffle on top of his snowflake-like hair. "Until then, no more jumping out of windows okay?"

"Aoba-san, why are you being nice to me?"

"Why, shouldn't I be? You seem like a nice enough guy and aside from falling on top of me you haven't given me a reason to treat you badly."

"Then...Are we friends?" It was such an innocent question and the wondering look on Clear's face. The hopeful twinkle in his pretty eyes didn't give Aoba much chance of saying no even if he wanted to. Like he said, Clear seemed like a nice guy. He was from what he could tell already. A little wacky too since he could jump out of a window no problem and maybe too focused on what people thought of him. Put that aside though and Aoba could see a good friendship about to blossom.

Aoba laughed. "It'll be awesome if we are."

"Why's that?" Clear wondered. As far as he knew there was nothing appealing about him that would make people gravitate to him, much less _willingly_. Aoba could see it though, whatever it was, and maybe that was more than enough, like a miracle in itself.

"Because, I don't need to ask if it hurt when you fell from heaven."

* * *

Despite the possibility of today's evening event not going quite to plan thanks to one member of the group wanting to be excused, Aoba's still buzzing as he crosses the street, a jump coming from the heels of his steps as he heads to a bar he's very familiar with, intent on seeing his next target. Anxious hands held the iron bars and pushed open the doors, immediately stepping through and entering The Black Needle bar.

"Yo, Aoba!" Mizuki, part-time bartender but full time Mr. Popular with the customers, waves to him from behind the bar.

Aoba waves back and sits at the bar on a lush, red leather swivel stool. Feels like home, he smiles in glee because for most of his life, this place has been the usual hangout for himself, Mizuki and Koujaku. Back when they were _bros_-not that they're not anymore but things are slightly different now. For one, Aoba's no longer a street punk, fighting for no reason and complaining with a mouth full of alcohol as the curses come rolling out about certain people and life overall being a boring waste. It's quite the cringey past to be ashamed of and want to stuff someplace far down like in a basement, so he never brings it up around people who aren't Mizuki or Koujaku, and not even around them if he can help it!

"Not eating lunch with Clear today?"

"Nah." Though Aoba does feel bad for leaving him alone it can't be helped and it's only this once. Not like he'll skip out on all of their lunch dates, as uncommon as they're bound to be now that they're in their second last year of highschool. Which brings him to why he came here; the tradition. "So it's the first of September today. You know the plan as always. You coming?"

"Should we really?" Mizuki shrugs in question. "It won't be the same without Koujaku."

It never is to be honest. A low hum comes from Aoba, knowingly. Losing Koujaku was hard to deal with and it still is. It's something they all (minus Noiz) always think about whenever the first day of a month rolls around. More so when they're out on the field, gazing up at the stars and swapping stories. Still, to let their tradition end just because of his absence isn't something Koujaku would want. "It's gonna be fine. We've managed up to now haven't we? Besides, I'm really dying to hear what you've gotten up to over the summer."

"You know I would go usually but I might have plans tonight."

"Of _course_ you might."

"No, honestly."

"_Sure_."

"I swear!"

Aoba snorts sideways, unconvinced. "Stop trying to get out of it!"

"I'm not! Aoba, _seriously_!" Trust Mizuki, if he really didn't want to go this time then he would just say so but that's not and will never be the case-except for this one time. He puts his folded arms on top of the bar and leans over them, a dreamy-ish smile on his face as he explains himself. "I know it sounds crazy...but there's this new girl at school and I'm thinking of asking her out tonight."

"You player! Leaving your boys hanging for a girl you don't even know."

"I know it looks that way. And I know I don't know her but I'm hoping once I ask her out, and hoping she says yes, then it won't be a problem. Ahhh, Aoba, you should see her!" He's suddenly more excited, the smile he has stretching out to fill up his charmed face. "She's very pretty and has a voice so soft it's like...Haha, this is gonna sound cheesy but don't laugh! It's like...I don't know, but when she speaks it's so soft I can't help but think about marshmallows!"

_'Marshmallows? Is that supposed to sound cute?...'_ Aoba tries to judge how much alcohol his rambling friend has probably had before he came in, because he's had to have had _some_ right?

"And when I see her around she's always carrying this bear plushie in her bag! Isn't that like totally cute?"

"Uh," Aoba's not sure how to say this but he has to. "If you're talking about who I think you're talking about then I think you mean _he_, not she."

"Huh?...Who?"

"Sei."

"S-Sei?"Mizuki repeats, eyes blinking at the foreign name. "Who's that?"

"The _guy_ you've been talking about, with the bear plushie and the voice that makes you think about marshmallows!"

Mizuki squints hard, unable to process the new, twilight-zone like information. "Huh?! What _guy_?! Quit messing, Aoba!" He wonders if this is a pay-back prank for wanting to be excused from tonight.

"I'm not! Geez, Mizuki!" Aoba huffs and shoves his hands in to his jacket pockets, irritated. "I'm thinking you're the one who needs glasses, not Clear!"

"Wait, what?!"

Aoba turns away, chest heavy with regret after carelessly revealing the secret. He was careless, the main thing on his mind being how stubborn the bartender could be. "Mizuki, you can't say anything to Noiz or anyone. Okay?"

"So it's true then?" Mizuki asks. The slip up repeats itself in his head and he's anxious to know more. It sounds too rich to be true but he so much wants it to be true. He takes the silence and uncomfortable look of regret as a yes. "Seriously?! No fucking way!" He violently claps, highly amused, a big grin practically eating up his face. "Oh man, and he used to brag about how his vision was twenty-twenty!"

"Don't say anything okay? _Okay_!?" Poor Clear was so concerned this morning even though he was promised that his news would be kept a secret until and if he was ready to tell everyone, Aoba had been reckless and told the next person he met. How lame is that? "Mizuki, seriously! Clear can't know that you know, let alone that _I_ told you!"

"Okay okay, alright." Mizuki juts hands and nods. Once calm, he leans over the bar again, grin softening. "Wow, our Clear."

"He's not a puppy."

Mizuki's shrugs, finding that debatable. "Might as well be since we all take care of him. He just turns up at our place and we feed him-Oh, speaking of! Last time he came over to mine he ate my peaches!"

"Augh, you need to let that go."

"It was meant to be the highlight of my night that time!" Mizuki had a can of peaches sitting in his fridge at home about three months back and Clear invaded his place and ransacked it, gobbling up the lot with commentary on how delicious they were. They were all that was edible in Mizuki's fridge until he could go shopping again. In the mean time, Clear even took the liberty of cleaning up the place a bit, his way of smoothing over his unauthorized arrival. "But maybe _she'_ll change all that."

"_He_." Aoba corrects and an unimpressed look directs at him from Mizuki. "Just trust me! Anyway, you better be there with us later. I've got some news and it's pretty big."

"What, you got a girlfriend?"

"No way, women are too complicated."

"I hear ya'. And plus, Noiz..."

"What about him?"

"Errm...W-What?" Mizuki plays dumb, looking for the exit to something he seemed to remember he was not supposed to speak of.

"_I said_ what about Noiz?" Aoba isn't going to help him and pretend he hadn't heard when he had, interested in knowing why the brat of the group was brought up in a short discussion about women.

"N-Nothing! Uh, just...W-Well who knows really? That kid's pretty-"

"Spill it, Mizuki."

Mizuki steps back from the bar in defense. "It's not for me to say! Ugh-look, I shouldn't even be talking about it!"

"About what? I don't know anything!"

"Good because he'd kill me if you knew."

"Knew what?!" It's like Aoba's talking to himself. Anymore of this interrogation that's leaving him dry of answers and he'll explode.

Mizuki smiles, apologetically. "Sorry, Aoba. A bartender's job isn't just to serve drinks but to be an unbiased listener that customers can confide in as well." He explains, winking as if he were trying to sway a casual customer. "If you really want to know then talk to Noiz later tonight on the field. Alright?" It's _not_ alright but like Aoba said before, Mizuki's stubborn so he's not going to let up any time soon. But really, he's good like that; always looking out for his friends and being true and loyal to them. It's one of the best qualities anyone can have but it's damn hard to bypass in a situations like this.

Aoba whines over the unfairness of his accidental reveal of Clear's secret which had tipped the scales in Mizuki's favour. He does have something though, remembering Mizuki's proud bartender monologue. "Y'know you just told me that you've been serving drinks to a minor." They _had_ been speaking about Noiz and he wasn't even twenty yet. Aoba smirks, the ball's in his court. "I can use that against you if I really want to."

"You wouldn't _fucking_ dare!"

Aoba decides now is the best time to leave and stands up, rising with the feeling of sweet victory. It's a huge relief that he was able to turn the tables and get dirt on Mizuki to bait him. For a while, he thought it couldn't be done. "You better be at the field later on. Otherwise I can certainly guarantee that peaches will be the _least_ of your problems, _if_ you'll even be able to _afford_ them afterwards."

"Shit!" Mizuki hates that he's even _a bit_ worried. "You sound like you're in the Yakuza!"

"Bitch, I might be."

* * *

**_[6 Years ago - The Black Needle...]_**

The hard glass bottle gets tightly squeezed between rough fingertips as the owner of the hand securely wrapped around the alcoholic beverage consumed it in a hasty gulp, accepting the sour taste that was warm as it fell down his throat. The burn and the taste echoing over his tongue felt natural, and when his lips parted from the rim of the bottle, Aoba continued with his story. "-And I fucking swear she was retarded because she comes in right? And she's like '_oh...d-did you fall? you stuck?' _She was so clueless and she could see what we were doing! He was balls deep in me not because he was a clumsy idiot but because he was enjoying it!"

"Oh man, Aoba, no more. I-I can't...seriously, I'm gonna die!" Mizuki cried, gasping and begging over his unstoppable laughter. Every time the three of them hung out at the bar there was always a story to hear or a complaint to nod along to and then ask '_who do I need to beat up_?' at the end of it. But the more stories Aoba told, the funnier and dirtier Mizuki swore they became. As badass and street punk Aoba was, it was very entertaining how his problems were along the lines of mundane and bizarre, especially how he told them.

Koujaku spoke over a muffled laugh. "That poor woman."

"You mean poor _me_!" Aoba snapped. He sighed next. "Geez, I can't even walk out my own house without guys hollering at me for a booty call."

"Maybe you should cut your hair and stop looking like a girl then."

"Maybe you should just suck my dick!" Aoba flipped him off and then grabbed his half-empty bottle and took another big gulp. He exhaled loudly afterwards, lips still partially wet. "I'm tired. Life sucks and everything's bullshit. At least you guys help me tolerate it a bit more."

Mizuki and Koujaku just stared at each other, surprised and nearly speechless, and then looked back at their lightweight friend who was most likely talking under the influence.

"What?!" Aoba questioned their stares. "You both heard me!"

"Of course we did," Mizuki said. "You shitty sap."

"Buzz off."

"Aoba," Koujaku called as he draped an arm around the blue haired street punk and pulled him in towards him, ignoring the dirty look he was given. "It's okay. You know we love you too."

"I said buzz off, _hippo_! Gah-!" Aoba winced when his ear was suddenly grabbed and tugged at. He swatted the hand around with vicious intentions of ripping it to shreds. "God damn it, you know I'm sensitive there!"

"I know." Koujaku said, smile sweet but eyes full of trouble.

"Fuck you, you're just lucky I can't hit a pensioner!"

"What was that!? Tsk, I can be sure that _one_ of us is gonna get it."

Aoba smirked. "Oh, so you want a go of me too?" He teased, using the sexual innuendo he noticed behind his old friend's threat against him. He leaned back in to the bar and spread his legs wide, welcoming him. "Go on, I _fucking dare_ you."

Koujaku froze, his face began to flush and he turned away. "..Q-Quit messing around!"

"You're such a pussy!" Mizuki laughed at him, with an idea in mind of what was probably going through his head just then.

"You just lost a customer!"

"As if! You guys wouldn't come here so much if I didn't serve you free of charge."

"Guess we sort of own this place now, it's our hangout." Aoba explained with a small shrug. He poked a finger out at his now empty bottle, pushed it a little and when it tipped and rattled against the table he let it roll for a while before it stopped. It struck up something for him to think about as mediocre as it was. Already basically wasted, he didn't think expressing his thought would make him feel less cool. "As bad as everything is, I'm hoping this doesn't change. The three of us hanging out like this."

"Ah, me too." Koujaku said, raising his glass that still had some drink in it.

"Same here." Mizuki agreed, grabbing a bottle from one of the shelves behind him and filling it up halfway with a red liquid that matched his sports jacket.

Aoba got the message and grabbed the fallen bottle. His changed his mopey look back in to a signature smirk, knowing that they were about to make a toast, a three-man musketeer-like vow in their sacred second home. Their three glasses knocked together, clinking to the silent promise they knew they all had in mind and the sound echoed throughout The Black Needle bar like their mutual promise to stay together would throughout their lives as the years came.

* * *

_**AN** And that's a wrap for part 1! Aoba's next target is Noiz of course, along with how they met and it's gonna be so fun to finish writing (not so secretly mostly because they're my dmmd otp). Please excuse any errors for now, I'll proofread later ^^_

_Breaking this in half is like breaking my soul...but like I said, I don't want anyone to feel burdened reading this so i__t's fine, I can deal with it (and I guess it's easier on me too in a way). __The real question is, can you deal with our wonderful clear becoming a cute megane? ;)_


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